Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Two Meals and a "Cleanse"

Hey everyone! This is going to be a quickish post because I have to finish getting ready for my long day. To be honest I wasn't going to post today but I made two awesome meals and I kind of wanted to share them. I also wanted to talk about a decision I just made. I find that when I talk about it here I become more accountable. And I also get tons of awesome support because you guys are awesome!

Here are the meals first:



This first meal is the most recent and most successful use of The Vegg vegan egg yolk. This time I used 1/2 cup of water with 2 tsp of the powder. This worked better because it was enough for my personal blender to combine it completely (1/4 cup of water doesn't even come up to the blades and barely mixes at all!) so it was thicker and cooked up way better! I used it in a breakfast burrito and made it with a GF brown rice tortilla, fat free spicy refried beans, and tofu scramble with spinach with the vegg mixture. It was a little messy but so good! And super filling which is great for my long day because we have to eat between clients and sometimes it doesn't happen until late.


I made a huge plate of veggies with hummus and stuffed grape leaves to bring with me. Carrots, celery (going to give it a try!), my fave Mediterranean hummus from Trader Joe's and some stuffed grape leaves. I also still have my seaweed snacks there because I didn't get a chance to eat them yesterday.

So, I was thinking about another cleanse recently and this morning I realized that there isn't too much to clean up. I eat a lot of fresh foods and while I partake in just a few processed foods (mostly the refried beans I think) it really doesn't come close to the amount of fresh I eat. 

I've decided that for the next few weeks until wedding season starts to pick up again and I hopefully start assisting again, I'm going on a spending strike. A major part of this means that I will be doing a pantry challenge! Looking through my pantry I've realized that I have so much good stuff that I haven't used yet. Quinoa, hemp seeds, beans, brown rice, dates, canned stuffed grape leaves (these were always back up because I find them greasy but I will drain them thoroughly!), etc. I spend too much money on bars and convenience foods when I have all of the ingredients to make my own. The only food I will buy from the store for a few weeks (until I dwindle down the pantry) is fresh produce. In addition to saving money on convenience foods AND prepared foods, I'll be saving money on gas. I travel an extra 15-20 minutes to the "good" Whole Foods because they have a bigger selection of prepared and packaged foods. I just need produce so I will go to the one that is only 10 minutes from my house. This will be great given the gas prices and how often I go to Whole Foods!

Finally, this will help me bring more variety into my diet. I have fallen into a bit of a rut, just buying the same things every week and preparing the same meals. Now I'll be more creative in preparing different meals using different ingredients. I'm really excited about all of this and I think now is a perfect time to do this. I'm also thinking that it will help me stay busy and help my anxiety by focusing my attention elsewhere. I see only good things coming out of this :)

Anyway, time to finish getting ready. I hope that you are all well and having a great day!

15 comments:

  1. Sounds like a plan! I'm not good about going to the store for just a few things so I end up totally stocking up... so there's always a lot of food in our kitchen! My husband doesn't cook really so he likes quick stuff where as I like to cook. I'm trying not to buy anything for the next week or two though so I can get through some stuff. The Farmers Market is great when I just want some produce.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't wait for our Farmer's Markets to start! I love getting my produce from there when I can. I don't know why it took so long for me to figure this out but I'm glad that I did! I'm looking forward to seeing what I come up with! I know that home made larabars are definitely going to happen :)

      Delete
  2. Oh that burrito looks so good! Actually looks like a real egg in a breakfast burrito. That's just crazy town.

    Your idea sounds really good. Cleaning out the cupboards will be a great way to save money and get really creative!

    Gabby @ the veggie nook

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The burrito really did look like it had real egg in it, it was so strange but delicious! I'm glad I put the spinach in too.

      Thanks! I'm really excited about it! I'm actually planning on trying at least one of your recipes and I can't wait! I hope I can get creative, if I could come up with something half as creative as your dishes I'd be happy!

      Delete
  3. I love pantry challenges! I did one last October / November, and it was awesome. I was actually just thinking about it today - another great minds, think alike moment!

    Breakfast looks so good! A substantial breakfast does help on those busy days (as we both have on Wednesdays). Lunch looks so good, too - I love the trays you use!

    Two more days til the weekend!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha yeah we should do a pantry challenge together and see what we can come up with!

      I definitely needed the substantial breakfast and it was really good! Thanks, I collect random tupperware and I may or may not (read may) have stolen some from my bro and sister in law when I stayed at their house and watched their pets last year. They have so much they didn't know the difference ;)

      Can't wait for the weekend! I have both days off again w00t!

      Delete
  4. I'm definitely going to have to try The Vegg; that burrito looks yummy. I think your reduced spending plan is a good idea all around, even for us blog readers because we will get to see what you create.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Vegg is good, definitely worth a shot! Looking forward to sharing some pantry meals :)

      Delete
  5. Good luck with your pantry clearing! I've been doing that the last month too, mainly for financial reasons but it's nice to not have tons of food loitering in my cupboards, unused. It's nice to eat what you have!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Allysia! I'm getting really excited about it! I'm planning on spending some time prepping and cooking tomorrow so I'll have stuff to start with then I'll prep on Sunday for the week. I have so much stuff that has been sitting for so long and I'm glad I'll finally use it!

      Delete
  6. Oh my gosh, a spending strike sounds like such a good idea! My pantry is full of stuff I haven't used yet. I can't wait to see how you get the most out of what you alreay have. I need some tips!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I won't lie I'm pretty stoked about this spending strike! I think that it'll bring a little bit of calm and will be fun to get some new, interesting meals in there! You can totally do it! Just pair grains with beans or lentils or whatever you have in your pantry and some veggies. I also have tons of nuts/seeds to go through too. This will be fun!

      Delete
  7. Yum! Your wrap looks delicious! i hope your cleaning of the pantry goes well..that's such a great idea to do every once in a while since it always gets so full! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Lauren! I hope so too, it'll be nice to start over with new pantry ingredients after I use all of the stuff I have. Hopefully I get out of this rut I've been in and will stop eating the same things every day!

      Delete
  8. I'm not believing this 'Pantry Cleanse' can happen, you're almost 100% raw, but I will stay tuned with the rest of the audience.

    ReplyDelete